Logan Pearsall Smith

"It is not what an author says, but what he or she whispers, that is important."

- Logan Pearsall Smith

Logan Pearsall Smith's statement is quite true in the world of literature. It basically means how an author can say one thing that may seem like exactly what it means, but at the same time, it can have a deeper meaning that must be interpreted carefully. In another words, the author is attempting to deliver an important message in a cryptic sense.

The quote can be supported by several works of literature. Personally, the first that comes to mind is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In this novel by Mark Twain, there is symbolism involved when Huck runs away on a boat. The river here represents freedom. The "pure" water of the river "cleanses" the corruption in society that Huck is running away from. In addition to this, there is also the use of money to distinguish contrasting points of Huck and his slave friend Jim. In the book, it may just seem like a materialistic motif that Huck has ownership of (a couple of thousand dollars). On the other hand, to go into depth with this, money means something else for Jim. That something is freedom. Although Twain made it seem like the money plays no irrelevant role in the plot, in truth, it shows contrasting point of views of two characters where Huck has no interest in overabundant wealth, whereas money means freedom for Jim.

The famous Shakespeare play Macbeth, also concurs with the meaning of the quote. As Twain did in his novel, Shakespeare also utilizes symbolism which happens to correspond to the quote. In one scene, there is a killing of a hawk by an owl. This is rather unusual in nature due to the fact that a strong aggressive hawk is overpowered by the weaker. It is parallel to how Macbeth assassinated King Duncan. By looking into it further, these two events tell us that nature is disturbed and has lost its orderliness. A second literary technique that Shakespeare uses in the tragic play is the recurring motif of blood. The blood in the play represents mainly the guilt that lasts forever. Macbeth states how not even all of Neptune's ocean will wash away the blood from his hands after killing Duncan. On the surface, it's just the matter of how blood stains are everywhere. However, what Shakespeare is "whispering"